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Waking Up In News America

1986

American, 1931 - 2006

In 1984, the CBS Morning News program began looking for a woman newscaster to team up with the male anchor Bill Kurtis. The artist Robert Heinecken was hired as a consultant to help research the most compatible pair.

To raise ratings, the network decided the female anchor should be "attractive, sensual, intelligent and professional" but also appear as a dutiful partner in her interaction with Kurtis, "to convey a sense of marital stability to the female audience." Heinecken created hybrid images to assess the telegenic compatibility of different matches and ultimately Phyllis George was chosen as the female anchor woman. The artist's blurry images of other female contenders and the superimposed texts seen here reflect on a process that was inextricably linked to stereotype and bias.

Offset lithograph

26 x 38 in. (66 x 96.5 cm)

Gift of the artist

86.128

Provenance: Gift of the artist 1986

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washiongton, Seattle Art Museum, Stills: Cinema and Video Transformed, Jan. 30 - Mar. 16, 1986.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Mechanical Bride, Mar. 8, 2014 - Aug. 10, 2014.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Pop Departures. Oct. 9, 2014 - Jan. 11, 2015. Text by Catharina Manchanda, et al. No cat. no., p. 101, not reproduced.

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